Dinner at a local tavern was a boisterous affair. To D'Artagnan's increasingly mortified realization, his Aunt and Uncle turned the dinner conversation into one embarrassing story after another about how cute Charles was as a child, what a wonderful boy he was, and so on.
"He was so adorable as a baby- when his mother would parade him around in his pram, complete strangers would come up to her and ask if they could pinch his cheeks. It's a wonder he wasn't always black and blue growing up, what with everyone kissing him and pinching those adorable cheeks. And he was all eyes- two beautiful brown eyes and rosy cheeks!"
Uncle Henri was no better, but it was Aunt Louise who seemed to have no end of her adorable Charles stories.
"The first word he learned was 'hi' and when he would see anyone, he would wave and yell it- 'hi!'. He was so cute, everyone would just smile and say 'hi' back."
D'Artagnan, sitting right next to his Aunt, and trying not to die of embarrassment, suddenly leaned back a bit, and while she rambled on and on, he hid from her and proceeded to circle his index finger around his tilting head, as if to say, 'she's crazy, you know!'
The Inséparables all laughed out loud.
Aunt Louise stopped for a moment, wondering what it was that she said that was so funny. But she didn't miss a beat as she dove right into another Charles childhood story.
D'Artagnan hid behind his Aunt again, but this time, he pretended to take a swig out of an imaginary cup, shook his head and rolled his eyes as if drunk. The implication being clear- don't listen to a word my Aunt is saying. She is smashed.
Porthos, Aramis, and even Athos were now roaring.
Aunt Louise, no stranger to her nephew's mischievous side, suddenly pointed to D'Artagnan and asked everyone, "Is he being fresh?"
D'Artagnan quickly nodded 'no' to his friends, prompting them for some solidarity.
"Yes, Aunt Louise, he is being fresh," Porthos blurted out, still laughing.
"Porthos! All for one!" D'Artagnan yelled, in mock shock at Porthos' betrayal. Aunt Louise then proceeded to knock on D'Artagnan's dome, while the boy began to yell for his Uncle's assistance. "Uncle Henri! Help! She's hitting me!"
Alright, that's it, Porthos thought; if this kid gets any more adorable, I'm gonna explode.
At some point in the dinner, Aunt Louise recalled the tragic instance around D'Artagnan's mother's death.
"My sister-in-law was the best you could ever wish for-after she passed- poor D'Artagnan was only eight- I did what I could to help. She had been ill for a long time, and-"
At this point, D'Artagnan, looking upset, simply whispered something into his Aunt's ear.
"Of course, my dear- I'm so sorry. Anyway, what about you gentlemen? I'm sure you have some wonderful stories about some heroic missions that you can share with us!"
What Aunt Louise would not share with anyone was the plea from her nephew- all he had said to her was 'change the subject' over and over. Clearly his mother's passing was still a source of not just a little pain.
The next day, after having said goodbye to his departing aunt and uncle, D'Artagnan accompanied the Inséparables on a brief mission against some local gang who were robbing citizens, and in the fray, several minor injuries mounted up by the four of them, including one for D'Artagnan, the result of jumping from a roof in order to capture one the gang members. The boy's apprehension of the man was successful; what was more successful was the resulting bruising to the young man's side, making it painful to walk.
By the time they all returned to the Garrison, it was late; later still since Aramis insisted in inventorying each of their bruises and wounds from the day.
At the same time, finally, Constance's friend Celeste was visiting. Her timing was perfect, as Jacques was out of town. Constance had confided in her growing feelings for D'Artagnan in her letters to her trusted friend, and she was looking for a confidant to express her feelings to, and perhaps help sort them out. Celeste had written back that she was curious to meet the young man, and be there for her best friend in the world, as best as she could.
They had sent the day together, walking and shopping in town, and they returned late in the day. The unofficial plan was for D'Artagnan to come home and then Celeste would meet (and size up) D'Artagnan, in order for her to provide her opinion of him to Constance. They were in a sitting room upstairs.
As the early evening wore on, however, and they were well past the time that she would typically hear D'Artagnan use his key to enter her home, she began to worry.
She kept busy as much as possible with more fond reminisces of growing up with Celeste, and she also fumbled with the fruit bought at the market, but as each minute passed, she was getting more anxious and angry- how could he do this to her, worry her on the day she wanted to parade him in front of her friend?
Celeste sensed her friend's anxiety and helped to calm her as best she could by keeping up the conversation.
The more worried Constance was getting, the more upset she was; and she knew why. My God, I've got it bad for this boy, she thought, and being married she didn't know what to do with those feelings.
Finally, a familiar giggling of the front door key was heard, and the door opened. Constance fought her instinct to jump up and see how D'Artagnan was; no, she would show some restraint and wait for him to come upstairs.
Celeste saw the inner turmoil in her friend's face, so she continued the small talk, but it was clear Constance wasn't hearing a word she was saying.
They heard movement, but it was painfully slow; D'Artagnan typically took the stairs two at a time, and when he would see Constance each night, he would flash a big smile and say "Good evening, Madame," recently even getting less formal and calling her Constance. It was the best part of her day.
Finally, her patience spent, she got up and walked to the stairwell. What the hell was taking him so long? There, still only half-way up the stairs, was D'Artagnan. He looked a proper mess.
Suddenly, he looked up at her, and with a weary smile that melted her heart, he said, "Hello," then he lowered his head and resumed his deliberate, slow, and arduous task of climbing the stairs. He was clearly in pain.
"What happened?" She demanded.
"Um-" he began. He had learned by now never to lie to Constance, or keep anything from her. "I- jumped from a roof. Nothing serious, I assure you."
"And if I were to ask Aramis the same question?"
"Really, Constance, I-"
She realized her grilling could wait until he successfully completed his ascent of the stairs. He sounded winded by simply speaking.
Finally at the top of the stairwell, D'Artagnan noticed Celeste, who had also come to greet him.
"Oh- apologies- you have company."
"D'Artagnan, say hello to my friend Celeste."
"My pleasure to make your acquaintance," D'Artagnan said. Then, to Constance, "I don't mean to intrude. I will just be taking my leave and retire to my room."
"Are you hungry?" Constance asked.
"No, just weary from a long day, thank you."
"Alright, just let me know if you need any help with anything."
"Thank you." Then, to Celeste: "Again, very nice to meet you. If you will excuse me," and he slowly made his way to his room.
Once his back was to the two of them, Celeste smiled and mouthed the words 'he's gorgeous' to Constance, who could only smile back.
After D'Artagnan was in his room for a few minutes, Constance excused herself from Celeste's company and knocked on D'Artagnan's door.
"Come," she heard, and she let herself in.
Once inside, she saw D'Artagnan struggling to divest himself from his outer shirt, and she muttered "I knew it- hold on a second," and promptly helped him out of it. "Sit down and I'll help you out of those boots. I can tell it will pain you to reach for them."
"Thank you. That would be appreciated."
While she helped him, she said "I'm sure Athos praised your well thought-out, not at all impulsive decision to jump off of a roof?"
D'Artagnan smiled. "He may have had a comment or two about it."
She noticed something greasy underneath his other shirt. "What's this?"
"Just some salve that Aramis applied to ease the pain of the bruise."
She unconsciously touched his exposed side, prompting a loud "OWW! What are you doing?"
"I- I don't know," she said, suddenly smiling.
"Well, then maybe don't," and then he was chuckling.
"Do you need any more help getting comfortable in bed?" She was still laughing.
"Um- with help like this…" he said, still grinning.
"Hey! That's the thanks I get?" She said in mock indignation.
"No! Constance! I was kidding of course," he said, not wishing to insult her.
"I know you were, you idiot, now get some rest and let me know if there is anything else you need."
"Thank you. What would I do without you?"
"Starve and walk into walls, is my guess," she replied.
He laughed and laid back and began to rest. He looked at her fondly, throwing her that shy smile that she had come to adore. For his part, D'Artagnan felt a surge of…did he dare call it love? No, simple admiration, surely, for this extraordinary woman, who was headstrong and kind and smelled so good and had the most beautiful, caring eyes…
Outside the room, Celeste admitted she had heard every word of the exchange- she apologized but Constance hushed her- the house had a tendency to make anyone hear anything said, no matter where they were.
Constance said, "So I expected for you and him to spend a little more time together so that you can get a better impression of him, but of course the trouble magnet has to throw himself off of a roof today…"
"That's alright- first of all, he's so cute- I suppose I painted a portrait of him in my mind based on your letters, but in my wildest imaginings could I have envisioned someone so good looking. But he also is very polite and sweet."
"Yes, he is. And someone that good looking you might expect to be vain and getting himself into all sorts of trouble; instead, do you know what he did the other day? Our dangling spit has been sitting in disrepair for ages now; and whenever I complained about it, goodness knows it fell on deaf ears with my husband. So one day I came home and found it all fixed and hanging up in my kitchen. When I asked who in the world had fixed it, D'Artagnan said that he did. When I asked him how on earth did he even know that it was broken, do you know what that sweet boy said? He simply shrugged his shoulders and said, 'You mentioned it once.'"
Celeste said, "What struck me with you and him was- how familiar the two of you seem to be with one another! I mean, you were both laughing together and seem to be good friends."
Constance thought about it. "We have become very good friends. I just seem to be- yearning for more. He brings excitement to my day, but I have to wonder- is it the excitement that goes hand in hand with him being a Musketeer recruit that I am drawn to, or is it himself that I am attracted to? And even if it is him, what am I to do about it? I am a- I'm married!"
"Were you about to say 'a happily married woman', then stopped yourself?", Celeste asked, quite observantly.
"Jacques has been good to me."
"That's not what I asked, my good friend, but perhaps that's your answer. I would support any decision that you make, but know it wouldn't be easy to make such a move. Plus, he is a young man who, as far as you've conveyed to me, can barely make the rent. How is he to provide for you, if he can barely provide for himself?"
"I know- but…"
"I want you to be happy, Constance, but your decision must be an informed one, and one where you think of all of these things.
"Of course, you can have the best worlds by staying with Jacques, and cheating with D'Artagnan!"
They both laughed.